Saturday, April 6, 2013

Creating captivating stories

Meeting novelist John Shors at Monument

I had to miss John Shors' book discussion at Monument Books
this afternoon as I was watching a pretty dire football match at Olympic
Stadium. However, Rumnea and I made a bee-line for the bookstore at the
final whistle and just managed to catch the author as he was finishing a
signing session. Temple of a Thousand Faces is his take on life and
love in Angkor during the twelfth century and its an excellent read.
There are simply not enough books on the shelves that bring to life this
amazing period in history, and Shors does it with a vivid imagination.
Basing his story around the temple carvings he saw on his visit to
Angkor a couple of years ago, and of course, letting his own creative
mind wander, his book is a must read. I loved it. A novelist with a
reputation for creating captivating stories around exotic locations,
he's currently wrapping up a tale set on the Great Wall of China, that
is after he spends another week soaking up the magic of Angkor starting
from tomorrow.
Our next stop was Khmer Surin restaurant. It's at the end of my street in BKK1 but I groan whenever I see the hordes of tourists stepping off their
buses and creating traffic havoc and for that reason I don't eat there.
Tonight however, Rumnea and I gave it a chance to impress us and they
failed miserably. I won't be returning anytime soon, or ever for that matter. The staff were bored and couldn't be bothered. Not a good start.
My starter came after all the other food had arrived and was burnt to a
crisp. The absence of light throughout the restaurant is an indication
that they aren't keen on you inspecting their food at close quarters. My main course was edible but I've tasted a far better version for a quarter of the price Khmer Surin charge.
It was a big disappointment and merely backed up my thoughts from a
previous visit. This restaurant will not get a third chance.